Abstract
The historical background of bankruptcy law in the United States is examined. The paucity of literature about the psychology of bankrupts is noted. Published studies are cited which trace the stages of ego disintegration under state-imposed constraints. The reported analysis of a bankruptcy lawyer is excerpted to illustrate the link with death which his work unconsciously represented for him. Brief clinical examples of the psychology of two bankrupts are included, with discussion about their psychodynamics. Pronouncements of two prominent patients are quoted and reviewed, along with biographical formulations about post-insolvency transference and countertransference considerations involving their respective analysts.
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